Trail Blazer Non-Profit Manager Software

Trail Blazer's non-profit manager offers nonprofit organizations a complete cloud-based solution to manage every aspect of fundraising and donor management. From collecting and centralizing donor information to targeted outreach to event planning, Trail Blazer's non-profit manager can be used to create, implement and track every donor touch.

Trail Blazer's software allows organizations to quickly target specific donors, maintain successful donor relationships, handle pledges, organize events and even manage finances. In addition, it tracks all of this outreach and centralizes it, so users know exactly what fundraising efforts were directed to each donor.

Nonprofits can create unlimited mass emails or export the data necessary for targeted print mailings. Users can also manage contributions, including online donations, and share calendars to keep the team on the same page.

Trail Blazer offers free unlimited training and 24/7 technical support, as well as data import and conversion. The solution is a great fit for nonprofits in a number of sectors such as animal welfare, faith-based ministries, public broadcast, environmental, among others.

Very Happy With Our Decision

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Value for Money

Pros

The customer service is outstanding, always available and quick to respond. We're finding the features easy to learn and navigate, and our first try at a donor renewal mailing went off without a hitch.

Cons

Would like to have the ability to record a person's name along with the company they represent in a donor record more easily. They have patched together a solution for us that remains a little awkward in searching records and mail merging.

Trail Blazer is GREAT!

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Value for Money

I love this product!

Pros

- The Customer Service is #1! They really do answer within three rings and they will walk you through any issues, big or small.
- The interface is simple, clean, and pretty easy to use after a few tutorials/instructions.

Cons

- It's not cloud based, but do your really need it? Only consider a cloud system if you REALLY need it. Otherwise you paying for something you barely use.

Response: Dan, Trail Blazer Campaign Services

Date: May 2017

May 2017

Trail Blazer is a cloud based client-server software package. Your donor data is stored securely in the cloud on our servers. You access your data using the Trail Blazer client application that runs on your PC. If you are using a non-Windows machine (i.e. phone, tablet, Mac) our application is served using Remote Desktop Connection. Plus, Trail Blazer gives you a web app that allows you to access portions of the database from any devices connected to the internet.

While we are still learning the various functions and tweaking our data in Trail Blazer we have high hopes that this platform will serve us well.

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Value for Money

Pros

That we can have all of our information on one data base which will make it much easier in tracking potential donors.

Cons

There are a few features that we would still like to have for our education departments and events and we have spent hours cleaning up the data base once it was transferred over to match with the Trail Blazer system while meeting our needs.

Awesome product

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Value for Money

Makes managing the small stuff that much easier. It seems to specifically target non profit organizations and assist them with accounting stuff that the average Joe can't understand.

Erica from Tri-County Animal Rescue
Specialty: Animal Welfare

September 2016

September 2016

Trailblazer is Great!

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Value for Money

Likes Best

The customer service is amazing. They answer all questions over the phone and via email. They are very helpful and fast.

Likes Least

I do not have a complaint. Both the product and the vendor are great.

Recommendations

Make sure that others in your organization are on board with the training

Matt from Harding School of Theology
Specialty: Higher Education

September 2015

September 2015

Trail Blazer: great product and great customer service

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

We had been using an expensive product that was unreliable and very touchy, and charged a fortune for tech support. Unfortunately, we were so invested data-wise that change was fearful - until that last problem pushed us over the edge.

Trail Blazer meets our needs with none of the issues the other product gave us. We have been impressed with the customer support in both the sales and the tech support arenas. We are happy with Trail Blazer. It is affordable donor management.

Likes Least

We are pretty heavily customized. There were some challenges getting set up and it took longer than we anticipated. But this had more to do with our data and needs than it did with Trail Blazer.

Recommendations

Software Advice listened to my specific needs and suggested three vendors to try. The agent listened carefully and took a creative path since nothing did exactly what I wanted it to do. I looked at all the options and chose the one that met our needs. Software Advice did a lot of the homework and saved me time and money.

Scott from Gay Alliance
Specialty: Human Services

August 2015

August 2015

Useful, affordable, flexible and improving

Ease-of-use

Functionality

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Customer Support

Likes Best

The customer support! That may sound silly, but having attempted support with other databases, this is the best. The people on the phone are VERY helpful. With the software itself, my favorite feature is how easy it is to have multiple log-ins all of staff can use and update the contacts with no access to financial and other confidential information.

Likes Least

While improved and improving, I still find some of the backend items a challenge-- some HTML and SQL knowledge remains helpful.

Recommendations

Biggest mistake we made: we did not have a person dedicated to the transition from old database. Proper setup of any database is important and I feel a single person dedicated to overseeing the process is important.

Mildred from Waipac
Specialty: Political Organizations

May 2015

May 2015

Used it for two years

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

the customer support and ease of using the software. It's easy to find all the data

Likes Least

that it doesn't have a connection to a general ledger

Recommendations

Try it out to see if it does what you need. Test it out with some sample data .

Joanne from World Alliance for Israel - Political Action Committee
Specialty: Political Organizations

May 2015

May 2015

Help Desk Excellence - Trail Blazer Campaign Software

Ease-of-use

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Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

Amazing tech support from incredibly patient people - can't say enough how important this is. Seamless integration with FEC for super easy electronic filing.

Likes Least

I can't compare it to other software that does the same thing, but increased user-friendliness would be greatly appreciated by all. YouTube videos are helpful, but they, along with the knowledge base, don't make it easy to find what you need. Fortunately, tech support goes above and beyond. They could definitely use more developers to work on improvements or known issues.

Recommendations

Make sure you get trained on the software as much as possible. Having HTML background would be really helpful, as would SQL. This is not an accounting program, so make sure you have either another program like Quicken or an accountant as well. Similarly, while it has some strong email blast and measurement qualities, it will not have the ease of use of a Constant Contact or a MailChimp. It's strength is in its record-keeping for campaigns and for filing. I barely scratched the surface of what this software can do. It is not as customizable as, say, Salesforce, but you'll save a ton of money by not having to hire consultants to customize.

Charity from Foundation for Clovis Schools
Specialty: K-12 Education

February 2015

February 2015

Trail Blazer was a perfect choice for my non-profit

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

We are a small staff, and I am the only one with any experience (limited) with software like Trail Blazer. Trail Blazer is intuitive to use, and if I get stuck, I have software support at my fingertips through the support team at Trail Blazer, but also through step-by-step instructions on the site. The staff has been very helpful, and they get back to me right away, so I'm never stuck for long.

Likes Least

The software is a perfect fit for us, so I have not had a negative feeling toward anything specific. We have not yet rolled out all the functionality (web and event modules), but that is primarily because we are taking our time in learning one part of the software before moving to the next.

Recommendations

Take time for your data conversion. Much of our data was outdated, so we took extra time as a staff to clean up bad addresses and other information. In fact, we even hired a temp to assist me in reformatting the data based on Trail Blazer's recommended format. When our data was converted, it was seamless. I have come across a few duplicates, but they are very easy to rectify. As a staff, we evaluated three software options fully with demonstrations, asking many questions and talking with references. In the end, Trail Blazer rose to the top for the ease of use, the support structure, and the fact that we could make the transition without hidden costs or additional fees.

Jesse from Greater Good Science Center
Specialty: Other

January 2015

January 2015

Good experience with Trail Blazer product and team

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

Customer support, particularly during the training and start-up phase, has been excellent. They are quick and responsive. And their solutions have nearly always been positive -- almost never a "Sorry we can't do that" or "It doesn't work that way" or "We don't have that feature."

Likes Least

It was not clear to me before I signed on -- and I can't say whether it should have been clear -- that as a Mac user, Trail Blazer is "non-native" in the sense that I have to use Microsoft Remote Connection to access the Trailblazer server and then use a Windows interface. It's reasonably fast. There's almost no lag time with this setup, and it's not as clunky as it could be. But it makes the experience of using Trailblazer a lot less pleasant. I frankly hate the way Windows looks, acts, and feels, and the remote connection is a couple extra steps each time I use the database. The whole reason I use a Mac is so as not to use Windows!

Recommendations

I recommend the product itself highly, and it seems to me that it would meet the needs of small and large non-profits alike. One thing to be aware of is that TrailBlazer is designed for political campaign use equally as much as non-profit fundraising. There are customized versions for each -- for example, the non-profit version will call individual records "donors" rather than "voters" -- but there are definitely unavoidable intersections, for example record fields that are clearly contemplated as having political and campaign purposes. And all the support (e.g. the ample videos) refers to "voters" as much as "donors", so it can't be entirely avoided. The issue (for me anyway) is that I find political fundraising and campaigning pretty distasteful. The whole reason I'm in the non-profit sector is to do things I think are more socially important than winning elections and supporting politicians.

April from Aruna Project
Specialty: Human Services

December 2014

December 2014

Great service and company!

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

The customer service is awesome, and there is always someone available to help.

Likes Least

The system has a pretty steep learning curve if you aren't used to databases, and the basic word processor to create a physical letter or receipt for donors is pretty limited.

Recommendations

I think the initial summaries are helpful, but honestly, a month trial would have been more useful to see the working system and what your needs are. This is a great priced database and customer service, but again, it has been a process to learn and continue.

Susan from The Venue Theatre Company
Specialty: Arts & Cultural

December 2014

December 2014

Much more user-friendly than eTap!

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

The customer support is flawless. These folks really want to ensure the best experience possible.

Likes Least

It isn't as easy to set up as we'd hoped, and we are not able to set up class registration very well. We also need reserved seating, which they don't offer.

Recommendations

Be clear on what you need and ask lots of questions. Do as many demos as possible so you can see which software fits your needs and your skills best.

Response: Dan, Trail Blazer Campaign Services

Date: May 2017

May 2017

It was true that in December 2014 Trail Blazer’s software did not offer reserved seating functions. However in September 2015 reserved seating functions were added on the desktop version, and on the mobile phone. Attendees can reserve the seat(s) they want and the price bracket (i.e. child, adult, senior, non-member, member, etc.) easily from their smartphone or our free web forms

Chris from romero institute
Specialty: Other

September 2014

September 2014

Traiblazer rocks!

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

The expandable and editable search function is a great tool. Also, the Thank You letter mass printing option is a big time saver. Coming from Salsa to Trailblazer, I am very happy with the upgraded database and tools, and for a fraction of the price!

Likes Least

For Mac, the remote desktop is a little slow at times, and saving files to the local computer takes a few extra steps. It's not a major problem though.

Recommendations

Do as many trials and demonstrations as you can! There are a lot of CRM programs out there, and getting your hands dirty playing with them is how you figure out what you really need.

Good product for the money

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

The price is great. The customer service is very prompt and generally helpful.

Likes Least

It can be very time consuming to maintain data integrity.

Recommendations

Trail Blazer is certainly geared more towards political organizations. We're a non-profit theatre and in many ways have had to shoehorn our data in ways that doesn't make a ton of sense. We don't sell our own tickets to most productions. If we did, there's no way we could use Trail Blazer. But for the money, and as long as you've got someone who can be dedicated and is data savvy, this can work for you.

Julie from Division of Arts and Culture
Specialty: Arts & Cultural

September 2014

September 2014

TrailBlazer Review

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

Great support. It serves our purposes for a reasonable price. It's easy to connect to online activities.

Likes Least

We have downloaded it to our system because our IT folks do not trust that the TrailBlazer firewall will protect our donors. I would prefer to have online access to the system but have to be at my desk at work to access it at this time.

Recommendations

Check out a couple systems, and make the best decision for you, but get a database no matter what!

Riley from Centerforce
Specialty: Human Services

June 2014

June 2014

Good product, great support

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Likes Best

Their customer support definitely. It is always easy to get in touch with them, and they've developed an extremely helpful online bank with screenshot photos to easily walk you through the process.

Likes Least

The email system isn't set up the best. In order to get a professional-looking email, which we've gotten from other sources, we have to know how to code in the technical aspects. This isn't our strong suit and makes mass emailing difficult.

It would also be much simpler if it could interface with our accounting software (Peachtree). We wouldn't have to do a lot of the duplicate work recording donations and such.

Additionally, it would be very helpful if the notification feature could send an email to the responsible party and not just notify their Trail Blazer account.

Recommendations

Participate in free trials, previews, or guided tours of the software to get a feel if it's right for you. Check to see if your accounting software will be compatible with it.

Response: Dan, Trail Blazer Campaign Services

Date: December 2014

December 2014

Trail Blazer has addressed this email building concern. In October of 2014, Trail Blazer added an entirely new mass email editor called CK Editor. Now, it’s far easier for customers to create their own mass emails than before. It has been well received by our customers.

Graciela from The Alexander House

May 2013

May 2013

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

We are very pleased with the product and with the support we have gotten from the team. Although the learning curve is pretty steep, the product is fantastic.
Thank you for your help.

Sam from Operation Rebirth

January 2013

January 2013

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Operation Rebirth is a Christian Boarding School ministering to boys and their families for 37 years. Before purchasing Trail Blazer, we used several different programs to track donations, maintain mailing lists and communicate with our supporters. Now all of of our information resides in one, easy to use database that can be accessed by any of our staff at anytime, in the office or from remote locations.

The implementation of the database took very little time- we were up and running on Trail Blazer the very first day.

While we are still learning to fully use Trail Blazer, it has already allowed us to track campaigns effectively and communicate with our donors instantly! Their customer support is excellent from the simplest questions to the most complex issues they are patient and yet quick to help.

Laura from Haiti Outreach

January 2013

January 2013

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

We have been disappointed by the system thus far as we are a MAC/Apple office - the smaller screen and need for Remote Desktop App is cumbersome and frustrating. When I did the demo at home on my PC it was crisp, clear and easy to navigate. We might have made a different choice if I had used the demo on my MAC.

Great customer support - they really do answer by the second ring and they don't give up until you are satisfied. In the first week, I must have called 10 times - Joel and all of the folks were helpful, polite and informed.

I think it is a great system that can do a wide variety of things - our challenge now is to dedicate a staff person who will be responsible for learning all of the "bells and whistles" and making it worth the money invested.

Response: Dan, Trail Blazer Campaign Services

Date: January 2013

January 2013

This points to a deficiency in our documentation. We have since updated our documentation and contacted Laura. If you select “View” from the Remote Desktop Client (RDC) menu bar and choose “full screen,” the Trail Blazer window will occupy the full physical screen, and you’ll get the image clarity Laura referred to.

Best customer service

Ease-of-use

Functionality

Product Quality

Customer Support

Value for Money

Ease-of-use

Usability

Functionality

Functionality

Product Quality

Quality

Value for Money

Value

Support

We've used Trail Blazer for the past year and the customer service is incredible. I watched all the tutorials but anytime I had a question or I couldn't figure out something TB staff would reply to my email within minutes of sending the request.
The TB system is robust and allows you to streamline all of your donors, grantors, volunteers and events in one place. It is easy to use and if you are stuck on something there are many tutorials and FAQ pages to help you out, and if that fails the customer service will get you on track.
Great company to work with.

Source: Capterra

Lee from Arkansas Heart Foundation

January 2016

January 2016

Awesome contact management system, communication, events and more!

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

Not having any coding experience I thought it might be difficult to use HOWEVER, the customer service is AWESOME!
They created our first template for us and it was exactly what we had envisioned.
They have a quick turnaround on any email (Joel!) and are always available by phone (Kevin)!
The you tube videos are helpful too with the graphics as I am a visual learner.
We have several upcoming events and look forward to using the event portion of the system.
As I said we are still in the learning curve but so far it has been a positive experience.
With so many programs available and us being a new nonprofit it's hard to know which one to go with- I'm glad we chose TrailBlazer.

Source: Capterra

Laura from Minnesota Homeownership Center

October 2015

October 2015

Robust donor management with excellent Customer Support!

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

Our agency has only scratched the surface of Trail Blazer's functionality, but found it to be an effective tool for our fundraising needs. Client support is top-notch; I never had to wait more than a few minutes for help navigating the system.

Source: Capterra

Chris from romero institute

June 2015

June 2015

You guys rock! No nonsense powerful software and great support = You guys rock!

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

While the interface has a steeper learning curve some other programs, it allows for much more customization and analysis than the other programs I have played with. The support staff (Kevin) is lightning fast to respond to any issue or question. I have been using Trailblazer for almost a year now, and can't imagine switching to another database.

Source: Capterra

Joanne from WAIPAC

November 2013

November 2013

Trailblazer - it's the tech support that makes it work.

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

I used Salesforce for non-profits in the past, and, although the software was free, we spent thousands and thousands in customization and tech support. Trailblazer (which I use for a different organization), by contrast, is a bargain, primarily because of their live tech support. There is simply no replacement for Mark, Kevin, Joel, Pat, and the team that, essentially, keeps us up and running. They are quick to pick up the phone, quick to respond to your problem, and ENDLESSLY patient. While the user interface leaves much to be desired, and I am often wishing that multi-step tasks could be simplified, it's a really powerful program that, once learned, does the trick. Certainly, if you're running a political action committee, it makes sense only to use software like Trailblazer, which makes filing FEC reports a cinch. And while it may not have one or two third-party APIs I might like, it does work seamlessly with our credit card processing company, so that donations go right into our database. If the company invested more resources in development, I'm sure they could make the product easier/better to use. But isn't that true of all software, especially databases?

Source: Capterra

Tomm from Friends of Tim Hugo

October 2013

October 2013

Definitely Recommend it

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

The software is extremely simple to use, versatile to different needs, and is easy to integrate to the internet. Definitely a two thumbs up recommendation

Source: Capterra

Monica from People Responding In Social Ministry- PRISM

December 2011

December 2011

Awesome company

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

I highly recommend Trail Blazer to any non-profit! The capabilities of the system are incredible and the support from the staff/team is unbeatable.

Pros

Trailblazer can do just about any data tracking you need. The program allows you to query a million different things so you can get the right donor list.

Cons

Not always the easiest system to use. Thank God for the support team. Everyone is helpful and goes above and beyond to help and answer questions.

Source: Capterra

Katheen from The Edge Center

November 2011

November 2011

Beginning user

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

I would recommend it period.

Pros

I have found Trail Blazer to be easy to use right out of the box. There is still a long learning curve but their customer service and knowledge support is great.

Cons

Non that I have come across so far.

Source: Capterra

Lynn from Citizens for Watkins

March 2011

March 2011

Treasurer

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

This product is easy to use even for those who dont use software. But the most outstanding feature is the customer support; no question is too small, or even strange. They take their time and dont rush through. I had a customer support person on the phone for 2 plus hours as we worked out a problem that really wasnt theirs. They are a great group of people to work with. I would suggest this produce to anyone needing software to deal with FEC filings and all other things related with the election process. Thank you for making my job easier.

Pros

The ease of use. The customer support.

Cons

Some processes seemed redundant

Source: Capterra

Sally from Nungesser Consulting LLC

October 2009

October 2009

Awesome Product

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

highly recommend for anyone working in political campaigns.

Pros

easy to use and allows unlimited data to be stored. easy interface with louisiana's voter files. customer service is amazing. if they don't have what you need, they will create it for you.

Cons

none that i can think of. if i could, they'd fix it.

Source: Capterra

Maggie from Kline for Congress

October 2009

October 2009

Review Title

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

I have and will continue to recommend TB to anyone and everyone. The ease of FEC filing and searchable fields makes TB better then anyone else out there.

Pros

A great campaign tool for any size team. The uploads are easy, mass emails are fairly easy and support staff is the best.

Cons

The difficulty is HTML emails with photos is a challenge.

Source: Capterra

Thomas from Campaign to Send Richard Cash to Congress

October 2009

October 2009

I don't know what this title things means

Ease-of-use

Product Quality

Customer Support

Ease-of-use

Usability

Product Quality

Quality

Support

Would buy again if given the choice.

Pros

Very easy to install. Pretty intuitive use

Cons

Nothing really of significance that I have noted.

Source: Capterra

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